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None are as reliable a Nightfarer asGuardianinElden Ring Nightreign.With Guardian at any team’s back, you may consider yourself protected, secure, and ready to face any enemy head-on (or at least Guardian can do the head-on part). He is a defensive unit meant to hold back the tide and create openings for the rest of the team.
His skills are all about crowd control, stagger, and soaking up damage. Breaking through Guardian’s iron walls will take more than numbers, and beasts that try to overpower him with their size may find that one of the greatest foes to face on the battlefield is gravity and a 120-kilogram giant bird.
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There is no team safer than those under the masterful protection of Guardian, the winged protector of Roundtable Hold.He is the masterful champion of defense.
With his great stats in Health and Stamina, Guardian is designed from the outset to beable to take a hit and continue using his shield.This comes at the cost of attack, however.
Guardian’s stats put him more into the Strength category with lackluster performance in Faith and Dexterity. Unfortunately, this means thatGuardian’s damage output can fall behind other Nightfarers.
Those who choose to play Guardian are typically those who arecomfortable using shields and becoming a damage tankfor other teammates.
Guardian Traits
While some of Guaridan’s traits might seem offensive,they are designed to perform a defensive purpose.Whether through crowd control or staggering enemies, Guardian’s skills are meant for cooperation.
His skills include the following:
Guardian has some of the shortest ability cooldown times across the board, even without Relics included.
Passive Skill: Steel Guard
Guardian’s passive skill is extremely simple. Essentially, itallows Guardian tobetter brace himself with shields.
When he is attacked by a creature while wielding his shield,he is moved back less(planting his feet) anduses far less Staminato blockattacks.
Character Skill: Whirlwind
Most importantly, this Whirlwinddeals damage to several enemiesin the space around Guardian.
This is agreat tool for knocking out mob fights,but it is also importantlyused for staggeringand breaking poise.
In boss situations, however, thiswon’t be able to throw bigger foes into the air.While this ability might not reach its full potential with bosses, this is still free damage that should be used when possible.
Ultimate Art: Wings of Salvation
This incredibly powerful Ultimate Art sends Guardian up into the air, dealing damage as he ascends, and then sends him like a missile down onto the earth anew.
This artdeals an incredible amount of poise damageon those it hits. It can also:
This art isbest used against bossesto deal poise damage and potentially break them for a Critical Hit opportunity.
Likewise, you can use this ability todeal large amounts of damagewithout risking any damage yourself and potentiallyclear bosses that are accompanied by lesser foes.
Best Weapons For Guardian
Guardian is (thankfully) an extremely straightforward character. He is just a bird wholoves his shields.
Before you go hunting for any weapons, you shouldkeep in mind the sort of shield you want to use. The ideal shield will give him bonuses to his guarding abilities while also strengthening his Stamina and weapon attacks.
Parrying is possible with the Guardian with the correct Shield, but as his weapons will likely have poorer Critical Hit damage, it is not always recommended. Guardian is best simply guarding.
As for Guardian’s weapons, as he is not often the main attacker and doesn’t deal damage very consistently, it isless of a priority than his shield.
When his shield is handled, however,thebest weapons for Guardian usually fit these parameters:
With this in mind, the ideal weapons tend to be in thehalberd, lance, and axe categories.
Magic affinity weapons don’t tend to scale as well with Guardian because of his low Intelligence stat, soweapons that have a Faith or Arcane scaling affinity perform better.
We also do not recommend using sealsfor anything other than the potential passive benefits that they give.